Canada, playing their first Olympic Women's finals, have the potential to win their group after beating Argentina and registering an impressive draw with hosts China. Standing in their way are the Swedes, notoriously slow starters, but loaded with skill and panache.

The contest between the North Americans and the Scandinavians is shaping up as a clash of cultures and styles, with the Swedes a highly tactical unit and the Canadians full of hard work and physical aggression. "I can see this clash of philosophies as pretty intense," said Canada's Norwegian coach Even Pellerud.

The Canadians are exponents of a pragmatic, high pressure game best personified by pocket battleship Diana Matheson. At just 158 cm, the diminutive midfielder has no fear and is the team's toughest tackler and midfield dynamo.

"I like to run around the pitch a lot," she told FIFA.com after harrying the host Chinese (also on four points heading into their last game with Argentina) in the last match in Tianjin. "Coach Pellerud wants me to go out and chase down players, get stuck into tackles and to be generally aggressive in the middle of the park."

The Mississauga, Ontario native was unfazed by the huge crowd in the China game, and even joked about the incessant chanting in the stadium. "I don't speak Chinese," she said, "so to me the chant kind of sounded like they were saying ‘Canada, Canada,' so we took heart from it!"

Matheson has only ever scored four goals in her 45 caps, and it's pretty clear why. Midway through the first half she snatched at a simple-looking tap-in and somehow managed to slam it wide with the goal at her mercy. "I wish I could have that one back," she smiled. "But I never really have been much of a scorer!"

Looking ahead to the clash with the Swedes, she is keen to give it more of the same effort and honest work rate, claiming: "We're just going to get in their faces like we did with the Chinese, and try to disrupt their game by playing our hard style and putting them under pressure."

Swedish perspective
Nilla Fischer, who scored the only goal for Sweden against Argentina in the last game, is equally confident the Swedes' technical style will stretch the Canucks to their breaking point at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing on Tuesday.

"For sure it is going to be a collision of our tactical game and their physical game," Fischer told FIFA.com en route to the Olympic Village from Tianjin. "We just need to keep the ball on the ground and move it around and use our style to keep them chasing the ball around."

The Swedes lost to China in their first game of the tournament, but played well. Malmo's Fischer believes that all is going to plan for the Europeans. "We started a little slowly, but we just need to keep doing what we're doing," she said. "We weren't patient enough in possession in the first two games, but I think we have recognised the problems and we can play our game on Tuesday."

A win or draw for Canada would put them through to the quarter-finals, while any points for Sweden would likely take them through as well.